Bretts legacy to be on ESPN2

[longtimefan]

why threads about a former viking QB on a Packer board?

Talking about his legacy as a Packer

 

[ivo610]

I agree, you can't discount Favre's accomplishments. He brought back the Packers to prominence during his career. He did Rodgers a great service in his last few years... This is how you Don't play the position and fortunately Aaron has the talent a brilliance to take from that...

Im curious to what you mean by he did Aaron a great service his last few years

 

[vancouverpackerfan]

Ya, that statement is a bit vague. I mean he got to sit in all the meetings, be part of the game plan, know what they were going to try to do to the other team and see how Favre executed the plan and how he ad-libbed in the situation. Aaron is a bright guy and he learned what NOT to do in those situations. He learned from an experienced QB but took the best parts of his game and discarded the parts that hurt the team. He then put his game together and we see how well he can execute the game plan. Fortunately Aaron is that smart to learn and excell.

 

[AmishMafia]

Talking about his legacy as a Packer

Jim mcmann was once a packer but he will always be a bear to me .

 

[G0PackG0]

At this point I would be happy with a minor apology or a hint of regret. Come on the Vikings? Interested in talking to the Bears? C'mon man....

 

[DevilDon]

Phft ... I don't dislike Favre....hell, the guy played a Hall of Fame career here....but....the discussion of a "legacy" or what remains of it is a few years into the future from my perspective. Again, I need to restate that I've never owned a player's jersey with a name on it and never will - I'm not a fan of the player, I'm a fan of the team... always have been, always will be...so, I wouldn't be interested. Besides, there will be nothing new, you know?

Not even a Matt Flynn jersey? Sheesh, I bet you don't wear a cross either.

 

[DevilDon]

Brett gets his legacy on iphones and ESPN and I just get mine caught in my zipper. What a rip=off.
He DID throw way more INTs than me so I suppose.

 

[packnutt]

toolkien, how do you really feel?

 

[longtimefan]

Jim mcmann was once a packer but he will always be a bear to me .

Ok got ya..

Well Brett's name sells lol

 

[weeds]

Not even a Matt Flynn jersey? Sheesh, I bet you don't wear a cross either.

You win, because I don't. Good call. I liked Lofton. In hindsight, I guess there would be ONE jersey I'd buy ... remember Bill Cherry's? ... #69 .... I always got a laugh out of that combination of last name and number - my wife, who isn't a football fan - used to frown on my perverse sense of humor ... but... she KNEW she was marrying a former bar manager... the 'pervert' thing is part of the entire charming package (anyway, that's what I always told her-she never quite bought into that concept though). Heh heh heh ...

 

[AmishMafia]

Favre defenders remind me of Joe Pa defenders.

People need to realize that no matter what you have done your entire life, it can all thrown away with one bad move, or decision. Favre decided to throw his legacy away and betray the packers. I can not forget that, or forgive.

Well put.

What a lot of people don't remember is that Benedict Arnold was an American hero of the war. He was instrumental at the battle for Fort ticonderoga and several other battles versus the British in Canada. Anyway, that is all forgotten and he is only known as a traitor. He, however, only plotted the treachery. He planned to turn over West Point to the British, but the plot was discovered before he actually did it. Brett actually defected and fought against us with the enemy. His purpose? To stick it to Ted Thompson, which were his words. And you can't stick it to just one person in Management. You have to stick it to the entire team and all the fans.

I hope they never retire his number or even put him in the Packer hall of fame.

 

[PackFanNChiTown]

Favre was indeed a hero to this team, which is why his actions in the final parts of his career stung so badly.

Sherman gave Favre carte blanche when it came to personnel decisions. If Favre wanted someone, Sherman listened and took his opinion to heart. Nothing wrong with that if that is the relationship between QB and GM/HC.

Then Sherman is demoted and TT comes in. As anyone who has transitioned from a lenient boss to a "toe the line" style, change is difficult, but ultimately the responsibility to make the changes positive lie with the subordinate. Thompson's message was clear: "You're the player, I'm the GM...period."

Favre simply couldn't handle not having his desires taken seriously. He was pissed when TT hired McCarthy over Mooch, pissed when he drafted Rodgers instead of a player of immediate need, and as a result he pulled his "if you don't do what I want I'm going to take my ball and go home" crap every season.

The final straw, according to Andrew Brandt, was when TT wouldn't sign Randy the-locker-room-cancer Moss.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Randys-rant-was-almost-a-Packer-twice.html

The feeling in our discussions was that we did not want to rent Randy for a year only to have him shop to highest bidder in a few months trying to recoup some of his lost earnings in 2007. We discussed different ideas, but in the end we were insistent on a two-year deal. While we haggled about an appropriate roster bonus to activate the second year of the deal, the Patriots relented on the length and agreed to a one-year deal. That was it; he was going with Brady.

Mississippi burning

Brett was livid. The rest of the weekend I was fielding calls from Bus Cook about what went wrong in trying to sign Randy. Ted did not want to deal with Bus, so I listened patiently to their rancor and tried to explain our position.

I truly empathized with Brett. He had befriended and admired Randy for years and the two of them had dreamed of playing together. Here was an opportunity for us to make it a reality. But ultimately, we stood on our principles requiring more than a one-year commitment.

I told Brett to trust what we had at the position; that Greg Jennings would be a star in a couple years. He said he didn’t have a couple of years. Brett offered to give up some of his salary for the following season – although that was his last season with the Packers (see below) -- to bring in Randy. I told that was much appreciated but we would never take his money away from him to sign another player.

Brett was forever wanting a more aggressive attitude by the front office toward player acquisition than the present regime. My constant message that our method of drafting and developing talent rather than acquiring proven commodities only served to infuriate him and his resentment of a general manager that showed him none of the compassion and welcomed input of previous regimes.

Patriot games
Fast forward to 2008. After a wonderful year for the Patriots, catching 98 balls for 1493 yards and 23 touchdowns, Moss was a free agent as he designed, now with interest from several teams to cash in on his one-year deal. And cash in he did, re-signing with the Patriots for a three-year, $27 million deal with over $14 million guaranteed.

And guess what team showed some decent interest again in 2008? Yes, the Packers (along with the Eagles and Cowboys). But again, despite getting Brett's hopes up again, the Packers bowed out of the bidding (I had left the Packers at that point but heard the anger and frustration from Brett’s camp). Moss re-signed with the Patriots on March 3rd. Favre retired from the Packers on March 4th. Coincidence?

Portrait of a spoiled, petulant child who quit on his team simply because he wasn't getting his way. THIS is Favre's legacy with the Packers, not his 16 years of play, but his one year of insanity where he tried to hold a team hostage so they would give in to his demands.

I'm grateful that MM/TT/MM stood their ground and refused to cave in under Favre's demands. Favre was a hero in the beginning, in the end he became a prima donna with a Messiah complex who fell in love with the sound of his own name...

 

[TJV]

IMO bhuggins and others make an all-too-common mistake in crediting Favre with the turnaround of the Packers organization. I and others have posted this before – most recently by toolkien. With this post, I want to step back and take a slightly longer view. The turnaround began with Bob Harlan realizing a change in organizational structure was necessary and he had to find one man who would have virtually total power regarding football decisions. IMO Bob Harlan was much, much more important to the turnaround than Favre. Wolf arrived at the end of the 1991 season and found a “country club” atmosphere on a team that would finish 4-12. He revamped the organization from the coaching staff to the front office to the scouting staff. He taught the scouts what he was looking for and changed the atmosphere at 1265 Lombardi. IMO Ron Wolf was much, much more important to the turnaround than Favre. As we all know Wolf was able to attract the man considered as the number one HC candidate to join the Packers in 1992. Holmgren created a staff full of future HCs along with a great DC. One of Holmgren and his staffs’ great attributes was developing QBs. As toolkien referenced, during the 1994 season Holmgren polled his staff asking who they favored to start at QB because during his first 38 games leading the Packers’ offense Favre had thrown 44 INTs to go along with his 46 TD passes. Mark Brunell, viewed as the better decision maker, won that vote. Holmgren famously overruled them, telling Favre the two were “tied at the hip”. Of course we can’t go back in history and find out, but IMO Wolf and Holmgren’s Packers team would have won a title without Favre. Whether or not that is true, IMO Mike Holmgren was much, much more important to the turnaround than Favre.

Another factor to consider for those who believe Favre was the indispensable man regarding winning a championship is the acquisition of Reggie White. IMO it is obvious his choice of Green Bay (in spite of the fact the Packers offered him the most money) elevated the Packers in the eyes of other NFL players. IOW, the most important free agent acquisition in NFL history also played a part in their ascension to a title, even beyond White’s fantastic play. His decision made Green Bay more attractive to other FAs. Please don’t misunderstand, IMO Favre was not only the best QB in the league for a span of about 3-4 seasons, he was the best player in the league and deserved those MVPs. His durability was legendary. He was extremely entertaining to watch and he brought millions upon millions to Green Bay via merchandise sales. Unfortunately part of the reason he was so entertaining was he all too often completed passes to the other team.

So I disagree with the idea Favre was necessary for the turnaround brought to Green Bay by Harlan, Wolf, and Holmgren. Exhibit A in support of that idea is Favre QB’d just one championship team in his 16 seasons in Green Bay. Of course that wasn’t entirely his doing but he famously threw interceptions to the opposition on the biggest playoff stages, squandering other title chances.

IMO bhuggins and others make another mistake in how they characterize Favre’s departure from Green Bay. What the Packers organization did initially was to accept Favre’s retirement, and prepare to give him another boat load of money for merchandizing rights. Then, in April of 2008 when Favre changed his mind and said he wanted to return, the Packers organization was ready to welcome him back. Of course Favre changed his mind again. It was only after that vacillation and nonsense from Favre (remember his “pay attention to me, I’m threatening to retire” dance started before Thompson arrived in Green Bay as GM) which allowed him to miss all of the off season work before training camp, that Thompson and McCarthy finally said ENOUGH! Favre then went beyond just playing for another team, which of course was his right. The most famous post-Lombardi Packer actively turned against the franchise which made him wealthy and famous. Regarding the Packers’ organization, how does the term traitor not apply to him?

AmishMafia, not even a shout-out or vague reference to my post regarding the Benedict Arnold analogy?
LINK

 

[AmishMafia]

Thnxjack, great post. I never saw the previous post of yours. I try to avoid the brett favre threads but for some reason I went into this one. Felt a little attitude today I guess.

Great minds think alike.

 

[TJV]

(AmishMafia, I believe you "liked" that post from May of this year. )

 

[Quientus]

Damn ... I get home from deployment ... - Use some time to try to settle back into "normal" life ... And finally get a chance to see some football again ... Tune in to one of my fav sites, and find this ? - people are still at this ?